Most of us have seen one. The ubiquitous wooden bench.
My earliest memories of a bench are from the school days in the 1980s. The standard seating arrangement in my school was this: 3 students on a bench. Up to Grade 7, the space was adequate and comfortable. However, in the later Grades, as we grew in height and girth, the same cosy benches became crowded and uncomfortable. Nevertheless, the brown wooden benches brings back joyful memories of school friends, teachers, school bags, and more importantly how carefree we were then.
The other vivid bench memory is of the huge, long, strong benches in my ancestral house. In those days, the dining tables were lined by benches. Chairs were still a rarity. These benches were made of good quality wood, and could easily accommodate over 5-6 adults. As a child, my fondest memories are of sitting on the bench with legs dangling, smelling the delicious aroma of food from my grandmother’s kitchen, and being served and waited upon by her. It’s been long since the benches have gone away, and so has those soft hands that served love.
While I do have memories of sitting on a bench in a park, or on a family picnic or an outing, those moments have decreased. The current lifestyle does not allow for such precious bench times and I can’t help but remember William Henry’s poem:
What is this life, if full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
Or in this context, sit and stare at the cool blue sky, at the children playing happily in the park, at the calm moonlit sky, or spend quality time with caring, loving people or spend time to introspect and reflect on life’s deeper meaning and purpose.
In today’s corporate jargon, we often hear of ‘benchmarks’, ‘bench strengths’, ‘on the bench’, etc. When professionals are on the bench for too long, they understandably get worried about their job security.
But in real life, being on the bench is an antidote to worry. Be on the bench and spend time connecting with people in your life or connecting with the life in you. Wishing all many happy bench moments and memories!
My earliest memories of a bench are from the school days in the 1980s. The standard seating arrangement in my school was this: 3 students on a bench. Up to Grade 7, the space was adequate and comfortable. However, in the later Grades, as we grew in height and girth, the same cosy benches became crowded and uncomfortable. Nevertheless, the brown wooden benches brings back joyful memories of school friends, teachers, school bags, and more importantly how carefree we were then.
The other vivid bench memory is of the huge, long, strong benches in my ancestral house. In those days, the dining tables were lined by benches. Chairs were still a rarity. These benches were made of good quality wood, and could easily accommodate over 5-6 adults. As a child, my fondest memories are of sitting on the bench with legs dangling, smelling the delicious aroma of food from my grandmother’s kitchen, and being served and waited upon by her. It’s been long since the benches have gone away, and so has those soft hands that served love.
While I do have memories of sitting on a bench in a park, or on a family picnic or an outing, those moments have decreased. The current lifestyle does not allow for such precious bench times and I can’t help but remember William Henry’s poem:
What is this life, if full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
Or in this context, sit and stare at the cool blue sky, at the children playing happily in the park, at the calm moonlit sky, or spend quality time with caring, loving people or spend time to introspect and reflect on life’s deeper meaning and purpose.
In today’s corporate jargon, we often hear of ‘benchmarks’, ‘bench strengths’, ‘on the bench’, etc. When professionals are on the bench for too long, they understandably get worried about their job security.
But in real life, being on the bench is an antidote to worry. Be on the bench and spend time connecting with people in your life or connecting with the life in you. Wishing all many happy bench moments and memories!
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